21 PAC meetings cancelled due to absence of Govt. MPs

Oct 25, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Members of the political Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC) are accusing the government of deliberately jeopardizing the work of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) owing to their continued absence from meetings.

In a joint statement, Opposition members, Jermaine Figueira, Chairman of PAC, along with Members of Parliament (MP), David Patterson, Juretha Fernandes, and Ganesh Mahipaul noted 21 meeting of the PAC have been cancelled due to the absence of members of the government that sits on that committee.

As such, the Opposition is accusing the government of displaying a flagrant disregard for the crucial oversight body. In their statement, the MPs noted that government ministers are continue to disregard the crucial parliamentary body entrusted with the vital task of scrutinizing government’s financial matters.

Opposition MPs: Chairman of the PAC, Jermaine Figueira, Juretha Fernandes and Ganesh Mahipaul

According to the Opposition, two-months after the parliamentary recess, the PAC finds itself in dire straits, imperiling its capacity to function as a robust oversight mechanism.

The Opposition noted that a meeting was scheduled for Tuesday but members of the government did not show up. “Today was scheduled to be the second PAC meeting since the recess, intended to scrutinize the audited accounts of the Ministry of Education, Region 5, and Region 10 for the year ending December 31st, 2019. However, this meeting has been abruptly canceled due to the unavailability of PPP members,” the statement revealed.

It continued, “This disheartening trend began when the PPP altered the standing order, mandating the presence of two government members for a quorum, leading to the cancellation of a staggering 21 meetings. These consistent government absences are not only a cause for alarm but also pose an existential threat to the very essence of the PAC and its fundamental duty of oversight.”

According to the APNU and AFC, the PAC currently grapples with an alarming backlog, particularly in its examination of financial records for the year 2019, rendering it years behind in its essential work.

Twenty-one PAC meetings were cancelled due to absence of Government MPs

“The persistence of government members’ absence from these meetings,” they said “exacerbates this backlog, preventing the committee from carrying out its crucial responsibilities towards the public.”

They emphasized that “This delay and the chronic absence of government representatives from PAC meetings are a grave disservice to the people of Guyana and a clear and present danger to the nation’s financial and democratic systems.”

“The PAC stands as a bastion of transparency, accountability, and responsible allocation of public funds. Without effective oversight, we risk witnessing further fiscal mismanagement, reckless squandering of public resources, and a crisis of trust in the government’s financial stewardship,” the statement added.

Moreover, the failure, the Opposition members stated that to convene PAC meetings as scheduled undermines the bedrock principles of democratic governance and the rule of law. A fully functioning PAC is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy, providing a vital counterbalance to unchecked government actions.

“We emphatically call upon the government to prioritize the prompt resumption of regular PAC meetings. It is paramount that we address the backlog and ensure that the PAC can diligently execute its pivotal oversight duties,” the MPs said in the statement.

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Chairman of the PAC, David Patterson, Ganesh Mahipaul, Jermaine Figueira, Juretha Fernandes

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